The start-up may break the cycle of game-console makers releasing new models every couple of years. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post

The start-up may break the cycle of game-console makers releasing new models every couple of years. Photo / Rotorua Daily Post

The next major video game platform may be no platform at all.

For the past three decades, the pattern has been the same: every few years, the major game-console makers - these days Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo - come out with newer, slicker players.

Now OnLive, a Silicon Valley start-up, is about to begin large-scale testing of a system that, if it delivers on its promises, may break the cycle and usher in a new era in a video game market estimated at US$21.3 billion ($31.4 billion) in the United States and more than twice that worldwide.

The idea is to run games in "the cloud" - distant servers connected via the internet - and stream them to your television or computer with as much speed and power as if they were running locally.

The service, which has been demonstrated publicly but so far only tested internally, is about to open up for a wider public trial next month, and scheduled to officially start this year.

This isn't about downloading games; it's about playing them on computers that might be 1000km away, counting on the internet to deliver an experience indistinguishable from an Xbox or PlayStation.

It's almost the textbook definition of disruptive technology and some heavy hitters are betting OnLive can pull it off.

The Palo Alto, California company is backed by hedge-fund manager Maverick Capital, Time Warner's Warner Bros unit and graphics powerhouse Autodesk. And it has signed deals with most of the major game publishers to put their hottest titles on to the service.

The man behind OnLive is Steve Perlman, a Silicon Valley veteran whose credentials include QuickTime, Apple's streaming video technology; WebTV, which was purchased by Microsoft; and MOVA Contour, the motion-capture system used in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Incredible Hulk.

The executive team also includes Mike McGarvey, the former chief executive of game publisher Eidos, and veterans of stalwarts Netscape Communications and MySQL.

From the game player's perspective, the OnLive system couldn't be much simpler.

For computer users, all it takes is a browser plug-in, an easily downloaded piece of software; for TV users, OnLive will supply a simple adapter - about the size of two decks of cards - and a wireless handheld controller like those used by dedicated game consoles.

OnLive's games are platform-independent: Windows PC users may find themselves playing against Mac or television-based opponents.